


Flinch

by InterstellarVagabond



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Angst, Butler as a father figure, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, as it is in canon and in my heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 10:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21390313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterstellarVagabond/pseuds/InterstellarVagabond
Summary: Artemis Fowl II was a master of what gamblers called "a poker face."Butler had seen him face down dangers without so much as a sweat from as young as nine years of age. He didn't just pride himself on his ability to keep his cool, he considered a necessary tool in his various professions. Be it thief or philanthropist, you never let them see you flinch.That isn't to say he had no tells. Nothing that just anyone could pick up on, but Butler? Who had been with Artemis since his birth? He knew what to look for.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 192





	Flinch

**Author's Note:**

> I was talking with a friend about how traumatized Artemis has to be especially having needed to take care of his mom at 12 years of age and I asked "do you think he ever flinches when she gets upset or raises her voice?" and the rest is history  
anyway I'm rereading the books for the first time in a long while and I'm only halfway through book one so apologies for any details I misremembered

Artemis Fowl II was a master of what gamblers called "a poker face."

Butler had seen him face down dangers without so much as a sweat from as young as nine years of age. He didn't just pride himself on his ability to keep his cool, he considered a necessary tool in his various professions. Be it thief or philanthropist, you never let them see you flinch.

That isn't to say he had no tells. Nothing that just anyone could pick up on, but Butler? Who had been with Artemis since his birth? He knew what to look for.

The tightness of the jaw, the slight narrowing of the eyes, the clenched fingers. All the signs that, contrary to popular belief, Artemis Fowl II had a heart and feelings.

He was used to those gentle, subtle tells, so what others would consider a normal reaction startled Butler with it's raw emotion.

It had started in the garden. The Fowl family was gathered to enjoy the luxury of a wealthy man's backyard, which for Myles meant cataloging species of flower and for Beckett meant catching as many frogs as possible and depositing the unfortunate creatures into a bucket.

For the Fowl parents: sweet nothings shared on a bench where they could watch their children.

For Artemis: sulking slightly under the shade of a tree fidgeting with some mechanism Butler had seen make an appearance now and then the past few days.

At some point, Beckett had seen fit to unleash his bucket of frogs for his parents to see, and Angeline had reacted as many parents do when confronted with the sudden plague their child thinks is really neat.

She shrieked, loudly, and at that moment Butler saw Artemis's mask break.

He dropped the device he'd been working on, eyes going wide and starting with surprise… or maybe fear?

Butler was quick to approach.

"Artemis?" He asked, knowing better than to try 'are you alright?'

"It slipped," Artemis said quickly, scooping up the device and running a hand through his hair to straighten it out. He was breathing quickly, and Butler watched as the teenage boy composed himself like a practiced monk slipped into a meditation.

"I think I'm going inside, I've fulfilled the required half an hour outside time Mother requested," he said.

Before he could make his escape, a large hand caught his shoulder. Butler knew what happened when he acted like an employee to Artemis, rather than family. It was never what the boy needed, even when in fits of irritation and anger he insisted it was.

"Everything's alright," he tried, and Artemis managed a cold smirk.

"Yes, I'm afraid that's precisely the problem, isn't it?" He said. "She's fine now," and then he spoke carefully for Butler to hear and understand: "and so am I."

Butler reluctantly let go, and Artemis made his escape back towards the manor. The obvious lie aside, what really sent a pang of pain through Butler's chest was what came before it.

_ She's fine now. _

Because she hadn't been before, and he'd been her keeper. Now she was a happy mother startled by frogs, and he was a nervous wreck (or at least the Fowl equivalent) at one startled sound.

Artemis didn't just pride himself on his ability to keep his cool, he considered it a necessary tool for his various professions.

So he did not express what his pounding heart and aching head were screaming at him as he made his way to his room.

Instead, he took a deep breath and calmed his features.

He did this even though there was no one to see.


End file.
